Livestock insecticide applicator

ABSTRACT

Livestock insecticide applicator in the form of an elongated member, circular in cross-section, adapted to be suspended by its ends for rubbing contact by animals. It is composed of a core of shearings, or clippings, from napped acrylic fabric, and a cover of knitted, preferably rib-knitted, tubular Orlon, or similar material. The ends of the knitted tube are tied, and rings are secured to the tied ends for mounting the applicator.

United States Patent [151 3,677,233 51 'July 18, 1972 White, Jr.

[54] LIVESTOCK INSECTICIDE APPLICATOR [72] Inventor: Pierce H. White,Jr., Dyersburg, Tenn.

38024 [22] Filed: March 19, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 126,107

[52] US. Cl. ..119/l57, 128/290, 128/296 [51] Int. Cl. ..A01k 29/00 [58]Field ofSearch ..1 19/157, 159; 128/290 X, 296 X,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,859 2/1954 Murrayetal...'..ll9/l57 2,688,950 McKinley ..l 19/ 157 3,336,923 8/1967 Devaud..128/290 R 3,371,667 3/1968 Morse ..128/290 R 3,630,200 12/ 1971Hlguclu ..l28/260 Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney-Mason,Fenwick & Lawrence ABSTRACT l0 Clairm, 3 Drawing figures I Patented July18, 1972 3,677,233

i i (Q) muggy lug-5 INVENTOR I ATTORNEYS LIVESTOCK INSECTICIDEAPPLICATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates toimprovements in livestock insecticide applicators, and particularly tothat type of applicator which is mounted so that when it is contacted,or rubbed, by livestock, insecticide is transferred to the body of theanimal.

Insecticide applicators of this general type have been in use for manyyears, and have taken many forms. Few of them have been commercialproducts, but most have been made on the spot by those who are caringfor the animals.

The most widely used type is made by wrapping a chain, cable, or wire,with burlap, or other highly absorbent material. Such applicators willonly hold a quantity of insecticide mixture, whether fluid or powder,for a few days, and rot quickly in use. Rain is absorbed by thecovering, and washes the insecticide from the applicator.

Other forms have included cotton, burlap, felt, absorbent waste, woolfibers and a cellulosic product as core materials, and the core has beencovered with cloth, wire mesh and link chain, and in one instance byperforated nylon. All of these combinations have one, or more, of theabove listed disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present inventionis to provide an insecticide applicator that can be made and soldcommercially, and which will not be subject to the disadvantages ofprior known devices.

A more specific object is to provide an applicator which will be capableof holding a considerable quantity of insecticide, sufi'icient'forapproximately a full month of normal use, which will also have a longlife and will shed water during rain, rather than absorb it.

Another object is the provision of such an applicator having a core ofpieces of acrylic fiber such as shearings, or clippings, which have anabsorption of only about 3 per cent, but which, in a mass, is capable ofholding enormous quantities of fluid, or powder, insecticide.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an applicatorwhich has a cover of transversely stretchable, porous material tomaintain close contact with the filler to assure a constant supply ofinsecticide available for transfer to livestock upon contact.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide anapplicator having a cover of seamless knit material, preferably rib knitto provide transverse stretch with good return characteristics, toachieve the snug contact with the filler mentioned above, and to allowgood conformation of the applicator cover to livestock body contours.

Yet a further object is to provide an applicator with a cover of knitOrlon, or nylon, for free feeding of insecticide through its poroussurface with relatively little absorption.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken inconjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, thisspecification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of alivestock insecticide applicator embodying the principles of the presentinvention, with the applicator being shown mounted and ready for use;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section through the applicator, illustrated onan enlarged scale and with parts broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross section taken along the line 33 of FIG.- 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to thedrawings in detail, an insecticide applicator l is shown mounted uponpoles 2. The applicator has rings 3 at its ends for ease in connectionof the applicator to the poles,

- the insecticide to the underpart of the body, the applicator islocated low enough so that animals can step over it and the applicatorwill rub along the underside of the body. Although one specific mannerof mounting has been shown, this is simply illustrative of the manydifferent ways in which this particular type of applicator has beenmounted in the past. Any of the usual means for mounting can be used.

The applicator consists of a core 4 and a cover 5. The cover is tubular,so that an elongated member of substantially circular cross section isformed. The ends of the tubular cover are pulled together and tied toclose the unit and retain and core material. The ends may be closed bytying with a length of wire 6, and rings 3 may be secured to theapplicator ends by the end-closing wires.

The core 4 is preferably composed of pieces of a very short staplematerial which has little, or no, absorption property. An acrylic fiberhas been found to be excellent for the purpose. The pieces of staplematerial may be obtained by shearing, or clipping, a synthetic,preferably acrylic, fabric which has been napped to obtain the fuzz onthe surface. This extremely short staple material can be stuffed into acasing without becoming overly compacted, leaving ample interstices forthe reception and retention of insecticide, whether liquid or powder,yet the nature of the material permits free flow of the insecticide fromthe filler as required. As the specific material has an absorptioncharacteristic of about three per cent, substantially all of theinsecticide will be released from the filler in use.

The cover 5 is a seamless knit tube. It can be manufactured on acircular knitting machine, preferably a rib-knit machine, in any desireddiameter and length, or it can be knit as a continuous tube and cut todesired length.

The material from which the cover is made is a synthetic one, such asOrlon, nylon, or similar non-porous, non-absorptive, extruded,synthetic, filament material, whether knit in filament form or from ayarn spun from staple lengths cut from filament. The seamless, rib knitsleeve of this material will be resistant to abrasion, will shed water,will not cause foreign matter to cling to its surface, and thesmoothness of the fibers will present little friction to the freefeeding of insecticide upon contact with animals, and its non-porouscharacteristic will prevent absorption of material being fed.

The use of a knit fabric, and particularly a rib-knit fabric, providesmany advantages. The fabric, composed of interlocking loops, hasbuilt-in openings for the passage of insecticide. A knit fabric, andespecially rib-knit fabric, has considerable stretch transversely, orcircumferentially, of the tube, and when the fabric is stretched, theloops are spread so that they are more open to the passage ofinsecticide. When released, the loops contract and tend to close, withthe result that they present much smaller openings for the passage ofcontained material. Thus, as the fabric tends to stretch, or spread,upon rubbing contact and retract when pressure is released, the fabricfunctions much in the nature of a plurality of self-operating valves torelease and retain the insecticide. In the same manner, it acts to keep.out moisture, and the smooth, non-absorbing, surface of the cover causeswater to run off freely. This not only retards rotting of the material,it enables the applicator to be left in the open during periods of rainwithout fear of the insecticide being washed from the applicator.Further, the retractive nature of the material, that is its tendency toreturn to its original condition, causes the cover to maintain closecontact with the core and insures good feeding of the insecticide. Asthe ribs of the knit fabric extend longitudinally of the sleeve,elongated channels are formed about the cover to contain insecticide forrelease upon contact with an animal. Because of the rib construction,there is tight closure of the loop formations, but the loops will openand the material will be freed as soon as contact is made. The innerchannels of the cover will not contact the animal at the. outset, butonly after the knit material becomes transversely stretched. This allowsthe inner rib material to freely pass insecticide before actual contact,as the agitation of the fabric caused by contact of the outer ribformation will serve to shake the insecticide through the loops of theinner channels. The knit material will hug the core closely to preventany sagging of the cover and to maintain a substantially roundcross-section throughout the applicator at all times, to enable all ofthe cover surface to serve as an applicating surface.

Due to the construction of the applicator, manufacture of the completedevice is quite simple and inexpensive. By the use of a simple augerwithin a pipe, core material can be fed into a knitted cover sleevewhich is drawn over the pipe. if one end of the sleeve is closed, thematerial of the core will fill the closed end and pull the cover sleeveoff of the pipe as the sleeve is filled. All that is necessary in orderto complete the applicator is to tie the opposite end and attach therings 3 for mounting. Usually, the applicator is stretched to settle thecore material and cause the completed device to have a uniformly roundshape.

The applicator may be filled with an insecticide at the time ofmanufacture, or it can be filled at the time it is to be used andsubsequently refilled as required. in most cases, the insecticide ismixed with a vehicle of some nature, Deisel fuel, for example. This canbe done by pouring the mixture onto the applicator, by soaking theapplicator in the mixture, orby pumping the material into theapplicator. In some instances, the applicator will be mounted beneathsome type of container for insecticide solution, and the solution willbe allowed to drip onto the applicator to maintain the applicator inuse. Many variations of these methods of applying the insecticide can beused, including mixing a dry or powdered insecticide with the corematerial before inserting it into the cover.

The many advantages set out above for the present applicator appear toresult from two features. The first is the use of shearings, orclippings, of an acrylic, or similar, material as the core, or filler,of the device, which results in superior insecticide holding qualitiestogether with free feeding of the insectimaterials to open and close theknit loops. When the knit fabric is rib-knit, this feature is present toa much greater degree, and when the knit tube is of Orion, or similarmaterial, the strength and long life characteristics of the applicatorare greatly increased.

While in the above one specific embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed, it will be understood that the details of construction shownand described are merely by way of illustration, and the invention maytake other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. A livestock insecticide applicator comprising, an elongated memberhaving a core and a cover, the core being pieces of short staplesynthetic fiber of low absorption characteristics, the cover being anelongated knit seamless tube, and means closing the ends of the knittube.

2. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, thecover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and beingnon-absorptive.

3. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 2 wherein, thecover is knit of Orion.

4. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 3 wherein, thecore fiber is an acrylic fiber.

5. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 4 wherein, thepieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.

6. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, theseamless knit cover tube is rib-knit.

7. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 6 wherein, thecover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and beingbeing non-absorptive.

8. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 7 wherein, thecover is knit of Orion.

9. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 8 wherein, thecore fiber is an acrylic fiber.

10. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 9 wherein,the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylic fabric.

2. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein, thecover is knit of a synthetic material having a smooth surface and beingnon-absorptive.
 3. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed inclaim 2 wherein, the cover is knit of Orlon.
 4. A livestock insecticideapplicator as claimed in claim 3 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylicfiber.
 5. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 4wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylicfabric.
 6. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 1wherein, the seamless knit cover tube is rib-knit.
 7. A livestockinsecticide applicator as claimed in claim 6 wherein, the cover is knitof a synthetic material having a smooth surface and being beingnon-absorptive.
 8. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed inclaim 7 wherein, the cover is knit of Orlon.
 9. A livestock insecticideapplicator as claimed in claim 8 wherein, the core fiber is an acrylicfiber.
 10. A livestock insecticide applicator as claimed in claim 9wherein, the pieces of core fiber are clippings from a napped acrylicfabric.